Radio Station Guards Thwart Tomato Protest Over RJ’s Exit

Die-hard fans of Kritika Rawat, a popular Indian presenter who resigned from City 101.6FM over an alleged dispute, planned to leave the tomatoes every hour from 7am to 7pm.

Instead, they only managed to leave 30kg in the morning, before a beefed-up security presence sent 
protesters scurrying.

“They are stopping people outside the building and not letting them go up to deliver the tomatoes,” said Rahul Sharma, who created a Facebook group after Rawat left the station.

“It is so sad that a media company that supposedly endorses freedom of expression, does not allow its own listeners to express themselves.”

Sharma’s Facebook group, ‘Kritika Don’t Go’ has so far attracted over 700 people who want Rawat back on 
the airwaves.

The award-winning RJ gained immense popularity for charity campaigns and birthday pranks on the air. One listener, who contacted the Khaleej Times, said that she had renamed her daughter Kritika in honour of
 the presenter.

Pareena Kotrru, who helped organise the protest, said that 100 volunteers had agreed to buy tomatoes and leave them outside the station’s office in Media City during the course of the day.

Vikas Jain, COO of parent company AMG, said that an extra security guard had been stationed at the entrance of the building as a 
‘precautionary measure’. “We care about our listeners’ views,” he said. “But since the presenter decided to move on, there is not much we can do.”

Rawat was not awailable for comment

martin@khaleejtimes.com